The impact of Africa’s natural resources around the world was at the forefront of a panel held in Midtown last Tuesday, during the U.N. General Assembly and Climate Week.

“Africa is not on the margins of the global energy and mineral conversation. It is at the very heart of it,” said Jonathan Pratt, a panelist and senior official in the Bureau of African Affairs. The event, titled “The Africa Energy Forum,” was held at the Virgin Hotel on Broadway, and hosted by the Atlantic Council, a think tank founded in 1961 to promote transatlantic cooperation. 

Several policymakers and executives weighed in on how Africa’s vast natural resources can fuel both local development and global energy opportunities. 

Pointing to the stark contrast between Africa’s natural resources and the more than 600 million people who still lack electricity on the continent, Pratt argued that current decisions will shape Africa’s prosperity and international security for decades.

Noting that Africa’s energy sector has long been dependent on Chinese investment, Pratt outlined Washington’s strategy of lowering investment risks for U.S. firms and bringing American companies into projects in Africa, citing 17 energy and mineral deals worth $9.2 billion signed recently under the Trump administration. 

“Our goal is not only to ensure trusted supply chains for the United States, but also to build a thriving corridor that drives trade, supports jobs and fosters prosperity,” said Pratt.

That call for investment was echoed by the panel’s African leaders, who emphasized their nation’s potential to become regional energy hubs. Youseff Amrani, Morocco’s ambassador to the U.S., highlighted the planned 6900-kilometer Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline as a cornerstone project that could bind African economies together and establish Morocco as a leading force. 

“Energy is the backbone of development,” said Amrani. “We want to be a key player for our neighbors.”

Mozambique’s president, Daniel Francisco Chapo, pointed to a $7 billion hydropower project under construction on the Zambezi River, and his nation’s coal, natural gas, and year-round solar power as evidence of Mozambique’s potential to drive national and international development. “We have the assets in Mozambique and a market in our neighbors,” he said.

But the discussion shifted to more structural hurdles that could blunt Africa’s energy future. 

Katie Auth of the Energy for Growth Hub, a climate think tank, argued that “access is not the end of energy poverty,” stressing the need for power that is reliable, affordable, clean and abundant, noting the surge in commercial rooftop solar panels as evidence of unmet demands.

Building on that point, Kosmos Energy’s Jeffry Krilla pointed to Ghana’s rise from 50% to over 90% electricity access in two decades as proof that, when managed well, investments in natural resources can deliver real transformation. 

But Reggie Sing, a U.S. State Department official, cautioned that Ghana is the exception, noting that Africa holds nearly a third of the world’s critical minerals yet draws only about 10% of global investments. 

Picking up on that concern, Ayotola Jagun, chief sustainability officer at Oando, a Nigerian energy company, argued that investment must be structured to serve Africa first, through local assembly, manufacturing, and long-term financing. She warned that without such changes, Africa risks remaining dependent on China-dominated supply chains instead of building its own.

The push to prioritize local development struck a chord with audience members like Jasper Udoh, a young Nigerian, who was encouraged that Africa’s assets were framed as a continental opportunity. “I was happy to hear there is a conscious effort to let Africa benefit from what we have,” he said.

In the end, the forum underscored one thing: Africa’s resources are vast, but whether that drives continental prosperity or simply feeds global demand remains uncertain.